Papal Envoy to Discuss Ukraine Humanitarian Issues in Moscow, Russian Official Says

A papal envoy is set to discuss humanitarian issues connected to the war in Ukraine during upcoming talks in Moscow, Russian diplomat Ivan Soltanovsky said, according to a report by TASS.

Soltanovsky described the Vatican's involvement in humanitarian matters related to the conflict as an area that has "already yielded practical results," though the report did not elaborate on what those results have been or how they were achieved.

The Vatican has periodically engaged both Russian and Ukrainian officials since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, including on issues such as prisoner exchanges and the return of children separated from their families by the war, though the scope of the current discussions was not detailed in TASS's report.

TASS did not specify the date of the planned meeting in Moscow, the identity of the papal envoy involved, or whether the talks would address any additional topics beyond humanitarian issues.

Neither the Vatican nor Ukrainian officials had publicly commented on the planned discussions at the time of the report.